MIAC – Page 19 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gopher AD List May Include Hawkeye

Posted on April 20, 2016April 20, 2016 by David Shama

A lot of names are being mentioned as candidates to become the Gophers’ next athletics director but one drawing minimal speculation is Gene Taylor, the No. 2 leader in the Iowa Hawkeyes Athletic Department.

Taylor was athletics director at North Dakota State for 13 years prior to joining the Hawkeyes in 2014. Taylor, 58, helped put in place the Bison football program that is working on a run of five consecutive FCS national championships.

Taylor has an extensive background in athletics administration dating back to his first job at the United States Naval Academy. His career commitment to female and male athletes, involvement with funding to improve facilities, success with football, and his understanding of this geographic region should resonate with Turnkey Search, the firm retained by the University of Minnesota to identify and vet candidates.

Multiple sources report Turnkey is interviewing candidates this week in the Midwest and East. One source told Sports Headliners over a dozen candidates will be interviewed in the first round of talks. Eventually Turnkey will vet those who the firm believes are the best candidates and bring those names to a 16-person search committee of volunteers headed by co-chairs Katrice Albert and Perry Leo. Albert is the University’s vice president for equity and diversity. Leo is professor of aerospace engineering and the U faculty athletics representative.

Recommendations by the committee will go to University president Eric Kaler. After Kaler’s disastrous hire of Norwood Teague in 2013, the president’s reputation and perhaps legacy is in play with a decision on the next AD who is expected to be on the job by July 1.

No candidate has probably been more open about his interest than former Gophers linebacker and Wall Street whiz Pete Najarian. The 52-year-old Minneapolis native and TV personality appears ready to start a new life leading the Gophers athletics department.

Najarian spent last weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska where daughter Alexis is on the University of Nebraska track team. He also visited with Cornhuskers legend Tom Osborne to learn more about running an athletics department. Before retiring, Osborne won national championships in football and was the school’s athletics director.

Najarian raves about Osborne’s wisdom and inclusive, caring approach with people. The two have known each other since the early 1980s when Osborne tried to recruit Najarian to become a Cornhusker. Najarian said Osborne was one of the few coaches who still showed interest in him as a person after he committed to the Gophers.

Najarian, former Gophers All-American defensive end Bob Stein, and WCHA commissioner and St. Paul native Bill Robertson are names with Minnesota roots who have been mentioned with the AD opening. Many Gophers boosters favor candidates who have local relationships and understand the culture here. Najarian, Stein and Robertson have ties to the Minneapolis-St. Paul business community—an asset critics assert has been underutilized by the Gophers.

Although he hasn’t lived in Minnesota for years, Blake James attended Coon Rapids High School and Minnesota State-Mankato. Now the athletic director at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, James will no doubt at least cross the minds of Turnkey executives, even if he has no interest in coming to Dinkytown.

Another no-brainer for Turnkey is Northern Illinois athletics director Sean Frazier. Highly praised by Sports Headliners sources, he is a favorite to be on a list of finalists. Frazier is African-American as is McKinley Boston, who was the Gophers’ AD in the 1990s. Boston has mentored Frazier who has worked as a top assistant to Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez. Frazier and Kaler know each other.

Sources tell Sports Headliners the best athletic director in the country could be Northwestern’s Jim Phillips who supposedly has turned down other jobs including Michigan to stay in Evanston. If Minnesota and Turnkey leaders wanted to take a “nothing is impossible” approach, they could access a private jet and fly to Evanston with an offer to make Phillips the best paid AD in the country—and bring along a briefcase stuffed with articles about the quality of life in Minnesota.

Not a bad thought considering the potential revenue an athletic director could affect at Minnesota, where both winning and income aren’t what they should be.

Worth Noting

The Wild, who appear to be building momentum, shouldn’t lack for confidence going into tonight’s Game Four against the Stars at Xcel Energy Center. Wild players seemed unsure in Game 1 of their Stanley Cup Playoff Series in Dallas, losing 4-0. Then a close loss in Game 2 in Texas was followed by the Wild’s 5-3 win on Monday night in St. Paul.

The Wild entered the series having faltered at the close of the regular season and facing the Stars without Zach Parise, Minnesota’s best player. The Stars were among the NHL’s better teams during the season while featuring a productive offense. But the Wild has slowed down Dallas and found its own playmakers including Erik Haula, who has impressed with a line that includes Jason Pominville and Nino Niederreiter.

The Stars want to force Wild turnovers tonight and turn those into scoring opportunities. If that works, there will be more pressure on Wild goalie Devan Dubynk. Goalie, though, is a position where the Wild should be better than the Stars.

In the series so far the storyline for the Wild is the team gets better each game. Can the script continue tonight?

The International Champions Cup match between Chelsea and A.C. Milan will be played on real grass at U.S. Bank Stadium. Vikings and amateur baseball games will be played on artificial turf but the August 3 soccer event, the first sports activity in the new covered stadium, will use sod.

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso told Sports Headliners Gopher transfer Jacques Perra, who will be a sophomore next fall, is a leading candidate for the starting quarterback job. Tommies’ spring practices started earlier this month and continue into May.

A source emailed yesterday that the Timberwolves are talking to former NBA guard and Warriors coach Mark Jackson about their coaching vacancy.

Condolences to family and friends of Bill Light who passed away last Friday after struggling with pancreatic cancer. Bill was a great high school football player at Hopkins and an All-Big Ten linebacker for the Gophers in 1970-71. He was also team captain in 1971. He was inducted into the “M” Club’s Hall of Fame in 2014, and once owned Billy’s Lighthouse restaurant in Long Lake.

Vashti Cunningham, daughter of former Vikings quarterback Randall Cunningham, is a senior at Gorman High School in Las Vegas. Ed Graney, writing Saturday for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, reported in an online story that Vashti, who turned professional in March, will next month be the first American women’s high jumper in 20 years to be featured on the cover of Track & Field News.

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‘Wally the Beer Man’ Keeps Pouring

Posted on March 30, 2016April 1, 2016 by David Shama

“Wally the Beer Man,” 81, has been hawking beer at various Minneapolis and St. Paul venues since 1970, but something is different this winter and spring. When Wally McNeil returns to his Plymouth home from the Xcel Energy Center after selling beer at Minnesota Wild games, Joyce McNeil, his wife for 28 years, isn’t there to greet him.

Joyce passed away on January 25 at age 85 from heart problems. An empty house can’t be very welcoming to Minnesota’s favorite beer vendor. To help deal with sadness Wally has sold beer at almost every Wild game this season.

Wally and Joyce met while employed at Twin City Wholesale Drug. She worked in city desk sales; he was vice president of operations. They were married June 23, 1988.

Joyce wasn’t a passionate sports fan but attended games when Wally was selling beer in the stands. About 16 years ago Joyce and Wally got into horse racing ownership at Canterbury Park. The couple bought race horses with Canterbury owner Curtis Sampson. Over the years the McNeils owned more than a dozen horses but none more successful than Wally’s Choice, whose lifetime earnings at the Shakopee racetrack and elsewhere are the second highest ever for a Minnesota bred.

Wally’s Choice was inducted into the Canterbury Park Hall of Fame last year. Wally attended the ceremony but Joyce’s health kept her away. The Hall of Fame recognition brightened Joyce’s spirits. “She was excited,” Wally said.

During baseball season Wally will again be a celebrity beer seller at Sneaky Pete’s downtown and on special event dates at Canterbury Park he will also be selling beer. What’s his favorite brew?

“A cold one that somebody else pays for,” he answered.

Although he didn’t need the money and still doesn’t, Wally started selling beer at the Minneapolis Auditorium in 1970 for attractions like professional wrestling. He enjoyed being around people at various events. Customers liked him, too—drawn to his deep voice and friendly manner.

For decades part of the fun at a Twins game was buying a beer from Wally. His association with Target Field ended several years ago, though, after he and other beer sellers were targeted in a sting operation involving sales to underage drinkers. A Hennepin County jury found him not guilty, but Wally has chosen not to work anymore at Target Field.

Wally will turn 82 in August but has no plans to stop selling beer. He has no health issues after triple bypass heart surgery in 2009. “My blood pressure is 110 over 66,” he said.

Some Minnesota retirees move to Florida. Others sit in rocking chairs on their porches. Wally, a fit 6-2, 210 pounds, just keeps going as the king of Minnesota beer vendors.

“As long as the good Lord lets me,” he said. “One day at a time.”

Worth Noting

Former Gophers All-American safety Tyrone Carter is working with potential 2016 NFL draft choices including cornerback Rashard Robinson who Carter said is a first round talent but likely to be selected in the third round. Carter operates the Tyrone Carter Elite Training Schools in the Twin Cities and Robinson is from Carter’s prep alma mater, Ely High School in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Robinson’s playing time at LSU was reduced because of a suspension for violation of team rules. The 6-3, 177-pound player is gifted but Carter said his pupil will not go in the first round because of his off-field “baggage.” Carter, who won the Jim Thorpe Award at Minnesota honoring the nation’s best college defensive back, said Robinson had the skills to also win the award. “He is a talented young kid for his size,” Carter said.

Varmah Sonie, who is from Burnsville and was a senior cornerback for Northern Iowa in 2012, is also receiving instruction from Carter. Sonie hopes to join an NFL team as a free agent. Carter is also working with former Gophers David Cobb (Titans running back) and Ra’Shede Hageman (Falcons defensive tackle).

An announcement soon seems likely that the Vikings will name Adrian Peterson, who led the NFL in rushing last season, as their 2015 MVP. The Vikings will honor team award winners in multiple categories including MVP at the Hilton Minneapolis April 17. That evening the Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame hosts its 9th annual Minnesota Football Honors event. See the March 16 Sports Headliners for more about the event that also honors high school scholar-athletes.

Spring football continues this week for the Gophers with two practices open to the public scheduled at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. Practice tomorrow (Thursday) begins at 3:45 p.m. and activities Saturday start at 11 a.m. (A Gophers spokesman e-mailed that practice locations can be switched to TCF Bank Stadium. Fans can check for updates on Twitter @GopherFootball.)

The Wild, with five games remaining to make the playoffs, may catch a weary opponent tomorrow night at Xcel Energy Center when playing the Senators. Ottawa plays at Winnipeg tonight before travelling to St. Paul. The Wild have won six consecutive games after last night’s victory over the Blackhawks.

Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald Jr. will again honor his mom, the late Carol Fitzgerald, at an April 8 fundraising dinner and celebration at the Minneapolis Event Center (St. Anthony Main). His mom passed away in 2003 and the Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund was established to assist charitable causes important to her. Guests at next month’s Carol’s Night will include Fitzgerald and ESPN’s Josina Anderson. VIP ticket guests receive photo opportunities with Fitzgerald, the nine-time Cardinals NFL pro bowler. More information is available by calling 612-770-4575.

Monday’s announcement the Lynx will play a preseason game in Rochester on May 8 prompts speculation the WNBA team might play more exhibitions at the Mayo Civic Center in 2017 and beyond. The Lynx have a multi-year partnership with the Rochester-based Mayo Clinic. The Lynx haven’t played a game in Rochester since 2003 and no doubt will be interested in gauging fan response this spring. The defending WNBA champion team will play the Mystics in a Sunday game beginning at 4 p.m.

Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen joins commentators Dave Benz and Jim Petersen tonight on the Fox Sports North telecast of the Timberwolves-Clippers game from Target Center. Whalen is the Lynx franchise record holder in assists (1,072), and ranks third all-time in the WNBA for career assists (2,033). She is one of six players in WNBA history with 3,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists. The Minnesota native starts her 12th WNBA season this spring, seventh with the Lynx.

The St. Thomas men’s basketball team will be honored for their NCAA Division III national championship prior to the Timberwolves game. Earlier this month the Tommies won their second national title in the past six years.

Bill Robertson, WCHA commissioner, e-mailed his league is represented by 33 current or former players at the women’s International Ice Hockey Federation World Championships that started Monday and continues through April 4 in Kamloops, British Columbia. Annie Pankowski from the Badgers and Lee Stecklein of the Gophers will compete for the United States and are among 11 student-athletes who played during the 2015-2016 college season. Pankowski will be a junior at Wisconsin next season, while Stecklein will be a senior at Minnesota.

Author Patrick Mader’s official book launch is tomorrow (Thursday) for “Minnesota Gold: Conversations with Northland Athletes Competing on the World Stage.” Mader’s book profiles 57 Minnesotans, including past Olympians, and details their lives and accomplishments. His event will be from 6 to 9 p.m. at Braemar Golf Club in Edina, with a program at 7 p.m. Seven of the Minnesota athletes from the book are expected to attend: Trina Radke (swimming), Tami and Toni Jameson (team handball), Jim Mastro (wrestling), Mark Lutz (track), Van Nelson (track), and Janet Gerhauser (pairs figure skating). More at Patrickmader.com.

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Confidence No Problem for Miguel Sano

Posted on March 18, 2016March 18, 2016 by David Shama

What to know about Miguel Sano, the late Flip Saunders, and national championship pursuits tonight by the St. Thomas men’s basketball team and the University of Minnesota’s women’s hockey team. …

Sano has yet to play a full season in the majors but writers are learning the 22-year-old hitting phenom from the Dominican Republic is full of confidence. In July of last year he told Sports Headliners future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera is the best hitter he’s seen, and also said, “I can be better than Cabrera, I think.”

Sano spoke about what kind of batting numbers he could achieve in a full season in a March 8, 2016 article by Tom Verducci of Si.com. He told Verducci, “I don’t know, but if I stay healthy I feel like I have a chance to be something like the MVP and win the Triple Crown, and I can be on the All-Star team.”

Miguel Sano (photo courtesy of Minnesota Twins).

In 80 games and 279 at bats last season Sano had a .269 average, with 18 home runs and 52 RBI. Sano obviously believes those are numbers he can build on this season and during his career.

Twins president Dave St. Peter views the young slugger’s confidence as a positive. “He obviously has a long way to go to get to his full potential but he’s a talented player,” St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “He has all the attributes on the field that you would expect out of some of the better players in the game, in terms of being able to hit for power and command of the strike zone.

“I think getting back on the field defensively is going to be important for him in terms of his career. We certainly thought that was a critical thing in the offseason to move him into a position (on the field). …We’re counting on him to take that next step. We’re hopeful he’s going to be a positive force for our club for a long, long time.”

Sano, a third baseman and shortstop in the minor leagues, was mostly a designated hitter for the Twins last season. In spring training he’s learning to play right field and that’s a process. “The best thing is he’s had a great attitude about it and he’s attacked it,” St. Peter said. “He’s been a good student, asking questions, learning from mistakes. I think having Torii Hunter (retired Twins right fielder and now an instructor) in camp the first couple weeks was a huge benefit to Miguel.”

Sano is 6-4, 262-pounds but St. Peter said there are no concerns about running down balls in the outfield. “He runs fine. Running isn’t going to be the issue for him. It’s going to be how long it’s going to take for him to master (outfield) routes and play those balls that are hit right at him. We want to make sure that we give him time for the transition, but we’re optimistic that he is going to be fine in right field.”

St. Peter believes Sano can become exceptional in the field. “We think the athleticism is there for him to be a very good outfielder. The only thing holding him back is inexperience.” …

Saunders died a few days before the Timberwolves started the 2015-2016 season but the impact of his personnel decisions is evident this winter. Owner Glen Taylor hired Saunders about three years ago to turn around a franchise that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2004. In a short time Saunders rebuilt the roster with young talent that has yet to win consistently, but the club shows promise of eventually making deep runs in the NBA playoffs.

Only point guard Ricky Rubio and center Nikola Pekovic remain from the team’s 20-man training camp roster in the fall of 2012. Six players remain from the 15-man roster the Wolves had opening the 2014-2015 season. In addition to Rubio and Pekovic, those players are Gorgui Dieng, Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad and Andrew Wiggins.

As president of basketball operations in May of 2013, Saunders inherited Rubio and Pekovic. This season the Wolves’ starting lineup has often consisted of Rubio and LaVine at guards, Dieng and Wiggins at forwards, and Karl-Anthony Towns (drafted last June) at center. Muhammad, a forward, plays major minutes off the bench.

Jim Dutcher said Saunders, who played and coached for him with the Gophers, could see potential in players that others missed. “…His ability to foresee what a player could be, not what he was necessarily at the time,” Dutcher said.

Flip Saunders (Photo courtesy of Timberwolves).

In Saunders’ first NBA draft he made a trade with the Jazz that allowed the Wolves to acquire both Dieng and Muhammad. He got two No. 1 draft choices by sending his initial first round pick, Trey Burke of Michigan, to Utah. Dieng didn’t have eye-catching scoring numbers in college but at power forward for the Wolves he makes contributions the subtle observer doesn’t always see. Muhammad’s flashy talent was obvious at UCLA but some experts doubted his character. Dutcher said Saunders believed with maturity and the right coaching Muhammad could help the Wolves.

LaVine was a one-and-done freshman at UCLA in 2013-2014 and Saunders liked what he saw. “Probably biggest one (of Saunders’ personnel moves) was LaVine, a nonstarter in college and he takes him with their No. 1 choice because he could see his athletic ability,” Dutcher said. “He could say, ‘Hey, if we can refine his game, this kid is going to be a player.’ ”

After Saunders’ first year or so with the Wolves it became apparent All-Star forward Kevin Love didn’t want to be part of the franchise long-term. Saunders negotiated a deal in the summer of 2014 with the Cavs sending Love to Cleveland and bringing Wiggins to Minneapolis. Wiggins had been the overall No. 1 NBA draft choice earlier in 2014 and in his first season with the Wolves became NBA Rookie of the Year.

Dutcher believes Saunders’ easiest move was acquiring Towns. Known for their awful luck in the draft lottery, the Wolves finally won the NBA’s No. 1 overall pick last year. Dutcher believes it was “pretty easy” to take Towns instead of Jahlil Okafor, another big man hyped before the draft and eventually taken third overall by the Sixers. He refers to Towns as the “cornerstone” of Minnesota’s youthful team. “He is a high character kid who is only going to get better,” Dutcher said.

The Wolves’ record is a dismal 22-46 but there is too much young talent not to dramatically improve that record during the next couple of seasons. Saunders, who was diagnosed with cancer last year and saw his health quickly deteriorate, died at age 60. Dutcher said his friend’s efforts with the Wolves “were finally about to be rewarded.”

More importantly, Dutcher said, Saunders’ death is for the many people who loved him a “tragedy that is hard to deal with.” …

Salem, Virginia is about a three hour drive from the campus of Christopher Newport in Newport News, Virginia. St. Thomas coach John Tauer knows CNU will have a supportive crowd when the two teams play in a Division III Final Four semifinal game tonight in Salem.

Tauer, though, didn’t seem concerned earlier this week when talking to Sports Headliners. The Tommies advanced to the Final Four last Saturday in Rock Island, Illinois where Augustana, a physically imposing team and ranked No. 1 in Division III, had a home court advantage.

“Their crowd was as wild as any one that I’ve ever seen,” Tauer said. “Our guys certainly rose to the challenge. You can worry about all those factors in a national tournament. The reality is I am much more concerned trying to get our guys ready, and prepared to play an outstanding team. The crowd is the crowd. That’s fun for everybody but the reality is what’s going on inside the court is what we try to focus on.”

The Tommies (28-3) and CNU (30-1) play tonight at 6:30 p.m. (central daylight) after the semifinal game between Benedictine (31-0) and Amherst (25-6). The winners play for the national championship Saturday night. Tonight’s games are streamed live on NCCA.com. The championship game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.

Tauer, who has a 126-22 record in five years as the Tommies’ head coach, is now in his fourth Final Four. He played in one final, was an assistant coach on the UST national title team of 2011 and was head coach for the Tommies in the 2013 Final Four.

Last year’s team was 24-4 and its wins included a victory over eventual national champion UW-Stevens Point. With four of his top six players returning, Tauer knew his team could have another high success season. The Tommies not only have talent but experience with four of their major contributors being seniors.

This week Tauer was named West Region Coach of the Year by D3Hoops.com. Senior center Ryan Saarela (second team) and senior forward Taylor Montero (third team) were named All-Region.

Both players are Minnesotans, as are all but one of the 17 players on the roster. Tauer said the talent pool of Minnesota high school basketball is impressive and that’s a reason why he stays close to home in recruiting. Logistics and budget are factors too. “I don’t have a private jet (for recruiting),” he said. …

The Gophers women’s hockey team (33-4-1) plays the Badgers (35-3-1) for a sixth time this season when the two teams meet tonight starting at 6 p.m. (central daylight) in a national semifinal Frozen Four game in Durham, N.H. The Badgers have won three games, the Gophers two this season, and the winner tonight advances to the NCAA national title game Sunday that begins at 1 p.m.

The defending national champion Gophers are in their fourth consecutive Frozen Four. Minnesota is trying to win its seventh national championship and third back-to-back title.

The other Frozen Four teams are Boston College (39-0) and Clarkson (30-4-5). The two semifinal games and Sunday’s title game will be streamed live on NCAA.com.

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